


Veratiserum - One Shot

by i_grace3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Cursed Child, Harry Potter Next Generation, Memory Loss, One Shot, Veritaserum, delphi cant remember anything, harry and delphi have a chat, harry doesnt really know what to think, he resorts to something, i dont know, i had this idea on halloween, post final fight, quite long but not too bad, small trigger warning?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_grace3/pseuds/i_grace3
Summary: After the group return from 1981, they must keep Delphi at Hogwarts until she wakes up from a Bewitched Sleep. When she does, she cannot remember anything from the past 48 hours. The whole thing plays on Harry's mind and he must resort to a small vile of liquid that would answer his questions. Truthfully.-Possible trigger warning?-
Kudos: 9





	Veratiserum - One Shot

**Author's Note:**

> Possible trigger warning? --- Mention of abuse

The group remerged back in October 31st, 2020. They stood numb in the Hogwarts courtyard, cold and horrified by the events they had witnessed in the past few hours. Harry simply stood there, completely oblivious to everyone with him. His mother’s scream still echoed in his skull and the bright green flash of light danced across his vision, filling the void of darkness each time he blinked.  
“Dad?” Albus shook his father gently, “Dad.”  
Harry snapped from his trance. “Albus…” He grasped his son in his arms. They stood there for a moment, still and calm, the whole world around them frozen in time. It was over. It was all over. For now. The two pulled apart and the whole group looked around at each other. They didn’t know what to do or say. Hermione was still gripping Ron’s hand tightly. She had not let go since before the Dark Lord’s arrival. “Rose, Hug.” She realised. “Ron, we need to see if they’re okay. I don’t know if they were caught up in any of this.”  
“Go, your family is more important.” Draco said, his arm wrapped around his son’s shoulder. “Scorpius, Albus, you should go back to your dorm. You’ve had a long few days.”  
“I’ll go with them and make sure they get there okay.” Ginny said as her son and his friend turned back towards the castle. They went inside, back to their dormitory, unsure if they’d even be able to sleep despite being the most exhausted they had been in their lives. The final four looked back and down at the girl who was lying on the ground unconscious, her skin pale and body almost lifeless. They had to place a Bewitched sleep charm on her. despite her bounds, she fought against them, an aura of threat about her. She was a danger to not only their safety, but her own as well. There was no hope in bringing her back without it. She had killed already, attempted to kill, tortured and fought. She was vicious, frantic, desperate and very much- unstable. The four stared down on her.  
“What do we do with her?” Ron asked.  
“I wouldn’t try apparition or floo to the ministry with her in this charm.” Draco frowned.  
“Hogwarts have a cell don’t they?” Hermione asked, trying to think back to her Hogwarts years.  
“The one you blew the door off of in third year or in the dungeons?” Harry reminded her, “But yes, they do. But I doubt McGonagall will be impressed. She won’t want risk of another one of her students being slaughtered.”  
The others looked at him fearfully. “It’ll have to do until the charm wears off. It could be a few hours or a few days, it’s hard to tell.” Hermione struck some sense into the conversation before the group nodded in agreement. “I’ll inform McGonagall on the situation, Ron, check on Rose and Hugo, see if they’re okay. Harry, Draco, you can take her to the cell.”  
“Why us?”  
“Because, one, I need to know if my children are safe and two, to let McGonagall know that her students murderer is being kept here until she wakes up. Now, go, before the sleep wears off, she could wake up at any moment. She’s powerful enough to break it herself.”  
Draco hauled the girl up by her arms and Harry took her legs. The pair carried her limp body down the empty hallway, lit only by the dim, orange low from the lanterns. The two of them struggled down the stairs to the dungeon where the air was cool and crisp and the area was barely visible in the dying lantern light. Harry put her legs down to open the cell and they placed her down on the floor. They stepped back and out in a small sense of fear. Harry locked the door again.  
“Should one of us not stay and watch or at least get an Auror down here?” Draco asked.  
“I’ll contact the office in the morning, it’s minimum staff at the moment, night shift.” Harry replied, “I can stay in the meantime, I’ve guarded at Azkaban before. It’s not that hard. You just sort of stand around and take a look every once in a while…”  
“Well, if it’s okay with you…”  
“Go home Draco, get some sleep. I’ll sort it all out don’t worry.”  
Draco nodded before going to walk back up the stairs.  
“Draco?” Harry called after him. “Thank you.”  
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad were friends now…” And then he walked back up the stairs and out. Harry perched himself on a stool outside her cell, his eyes locking onto the girl. He could not take them off of her. There was still something about her that frightened him to the bone. Even though she was still asleep, he was scared of her. the tattoo on her back was facing him, the bird’s talons and beak fierce and sharp, it’s wings spread wide. It was an ominous thing. But it showed just how much she was devoted to her father. She just wanted to know him. In a sense, Harry felt bad for her. He almost felt sorry for her. They both watched their fathers die. She didn’t want power, all she really wanted was to feel loved… She just wanted to know her father. And so did Harry. He wished he knew his parents. They both had a right to hate each other, after all, he had hurt his son, her father had killed his, but he killed hers. But what made Harry think the most was why she did not want the power that would come with being the Dark Lord’s daughter? All she wanted was love, and nothing more, just pure plain love. What drove her to such an extreme just to satisfy her craving?  
***  
Harry awoke to someone shaking him gently. He lifted his head up off the table in-front of him and saw McGonagall stood over him, a stern look on her face. Harry yawned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.  
“Good morning Mr Potter.” She said, frustration in her voice.  
“Professor I-“ He began before she interrupted him.  
“I awoke to a note on my desk telling me that Voldemort’s child is currently being kept in my dungeon.” She looked over at the girl, “There’s not much to her is there?”  
“She tried to KILL me! She’s small but fierce…”  
“Now, would you care to explain to me why she is in there?”  
“She’s in a bewitched sleep. We can’t take her to the Ministry until she wakes up…”  
Minerva sighed, “You do realise bewitched sleep can last weeks, months even.”  
“Yes, we do. But there wasn’t many options left.”  
“May I ask why you resorted to it?”  
“She’s rather- feisty.”  
“Feisty?”  
“She wasn’t just a danger to us but herself…”  
“I see.” There was a long, tense pause between the two that hung in the air. “Well, I must go. I have work to do.” Minerva broke the silence.  
“Yes, I must too really.”  
“Well, goodbye Mr Potter.” She turned on her heel.  
“Minerva, you wouldn’t mind asking the ministry to send over an Auror would you?”  
“I thought that was your job Mr Potter.”  
***  
A few hours passed as Harry remained outside the cell, waiting for another Auror to arrive. In that time, nothing much had changed, the girl was still sound asleep but he did surprisingly manage to catch up on paperwork. It was not like Harry at all to be on top of it. There was mostly always an ever growing pie of it on top of his desk He could just not get round to doing it. But here he was, miraculously on top of it. There wasn’t much else he could do anyway. There was bound to be more paperwork on this whole situation that would flood in soon enough and would’ve otherwise added itself to the pile on his desk. He’d otherwise just be sat there just waiting for either the girl to wake up or another Auror to finally turn up. As he was doing it though, he kept thinking about last night and his thoughts about her. It just kept itching at his mind. He didn’t know if he should feel bad for her. He was supposed to be furious at her, after all, she almost killed both him and his son. He was angry with her no doubt however, the more he thought about all of it, the more empathy he seemed to feel for her. He knew he shouldn’t feel empathetic towards her or feel bad for her in the slightest. Nut the more it dug its way into his mind, the more so he did. He couldn’t get rid of it. He genuinely did feel somewhat bad for her. But Harry did not want to admit it to himself or anybody else. But the thought clung to his mind as he kept thinking over and over about it all. He looked back over at her, sighing to himself.  
But out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw the most miniscule movement. He kept his gaze on her, watching as she curled her fingers softly stretching her body out ever so slightly. She moved slowly, weakly, the charm having drained almost all of the energy she had left after her fight. She sat up slowly, holding herself up shakily, looking at her surroundings in confusion.  
“My god, my head…” She muttered. “Where- where am I?” She mumbled, her voice dry and exhausted.  
“Hogwarts.” Harry replied and Delphi turned her head towards him, her expression morphing to one of fear.  
“You…” She gasped slightly. “Why- what happened?”  
“You were in a bewitched sleep. We couldn’t take you to the ministry so we had to wait here until you woke up.”  
“Oh…” She mumbled again. “Why- why are you here?”  
“I sent for another Auror but they haven’t actually turned up. I took the opportunity to do some paperwork.” He chuckled.  
“God, my head…” Delphi’s head was foggy and throbbed painfully. She assumed it was a side effect of the charm so she brushed it off. She had delt with much worse pain than this before. This was nothing compared to what she had felt in the past. And in the past, she always had to deal with it by herself, she had to put up with it and wait until it finally passed.  
“It’s probably a side effect. Some people have memory loss, sickness, cramps.”  
Delphi’s memory of the past forty-eight hours was blurry. She could hardly remember the events that had taken place in those last few hours she was awake. She could just about remember arriving in 1981 and then it was a long, blank period before she saw herself at the top of a cliff. She was screaming, crying, sobbing in pain. But this was emotional pain. It hurt way more than the pounding of her head. But she couldn’t remember why it hurt so much. And then it was blank again until she was on her knees, Harry stood over her, screaming at her out of fear, out of pure and utter rage. She couldn’t remember why or what he was saying. And that was it. That was all she remembered.  
“Delphini?” Harry said, Delphi finally realising she had completely spaced out of their conversation as she was trying so hard to recall what little memory she had.  
“You zoned out, what happened?” He asked.  
“I-“ She stumbled, unable to form her words over the lump in her throat. “I can’t remember what happened…”  
“What?”  
“I- I can’t- I can’t remember anything from when I met Albus and Scorpius in the Owlery until now. It’s all- foggy.”  
“Stop playing games with me. You’re lying to me.”  
“I’m not lying I swear.”  
“Well, what can you remember?”  
“I remember arriving in 1981, then it’s blank. Then I was by a cliff of some sort.”  
“A cliff?”  
“I was- upset I think. I had to get it out of me somehow. I just screamed out, crying for hours, and hours. And then its foggy again.”  
“You’re lying to me.” Harry didn’t believe a single word that was coming out of her mouth.  
“What?”  
“You’re lying and I know it.”  
“I’m not, I swear!” She stammered, desperation in her voice.”  
“You’ve lied enough already, now tell me, do you remember or do you not?” Harry raised his voice slightly. Delphi just stared at him, trying to form her words and hold her emotions together.  
“I’m telling the truth, Harry…” She begged him, her voice trembling ever so slightly. “Please, you have to believe me…”  
Harry paused again, frustrated and fed up. But then a clever idea popped into his head. An idea that would most definitely get the truth out of her. “Do you want anything to drink?” He asked her. Delphi’s face morphed from desperation to one of confusion. But she was parched. She hadn’t drunk anything for almost two days, her throat was dry and felt like sand paper when she swallowed. She didn’t know why Harry was offering her a drink. But something didn’t sit right however, she was thirsty and had to have something otherwise she’d pass out from dehydration.  
“Yes please.” She replied to Harry’s offer.  
“I’ll be back soon.” He got up and walked back up the stairs into the hallway. The potions store cupboard was just around the corner and held a small vial of powerful liquid. Once he arrive outside the cupboard, he took no time to waste and muttered “Alohomora,” And the door swung open. He scanned the shelves for a small, green bottle, no bigger than the size of his little finger. However, the stuff within it was strong and he knew it. Snape told him that one drop and the Dark Lord would spill his deepest secrets. Therefore, it would work just fine on his daughter. He eventually found it on the top shelf hidden behind several jars of willow leaves. He pocketed the tiny bottle, grabbed a glass and filled it with water. He took out the bottle again, pulling out the cork and poured two tiny drops of veratiserum into the water. There was not a trace of it to the naked eye and looked like a regular glass of water. He put the remains of the bottle back onto the shelf before walking back down to the dungeon, treading carefully down the stairs in an attempt to not spill anything.  
“Here.” He held the glass out to her through the bars. She looked at it hesitantly for a moment before taking it, her suspicion growing. However, it was not enough for her to not down the entire glass in no more than a few seconds. She dried her lips with he cuff of her sleeve before she said a small “Thank you,” to Harry, placing the glass back down on the floor beside her.  
“Any better?” He asked.  
“Much, thank you.”  
“Now, tell me, what do you remember?” Harry resumed questioning her, knowing that whatever came from her mouth now would be the truth and nothing but the truth. And he looked forward to it.  
“I already told you.” She snapped, uncertainty in her tone.  
“I would like you to tell me again though. What can you remember?”  
“I uh-“ She stumbled again, the truth serum doing its work perfectly, squeezing the truth out of her, inch by inch. “I remember meeting Albus and Scorpius in the owlery, they were discussing how to destroy a time turner. Scorpius was unsure of me, Albus also had his doubts but we carried on. And then it’s blank until I arrive in 1981.”  
“Do you remember anything in that bank period? Anything at all?”  
“Nothing. No. It’s just- gone. Like it’s been wiped from my memory.”  
“What happened after you arrived in 1981?”  
“I was at the top of a cliff face in the highlands. It was cold, cloudy, raining.”  
“Why were you there? What happened when you were there?”  
“It was raining. Cold, heavy rain. I don’t know why I was there, but I was-“ She paused, thinking, clearly trying to push the truth back down.  
“You were what?”  
“I was- upset, angry at myself.” Delphi’s voice shook slightly, memory of the moment flooding back, a moment that she did not want to remember and had tried to push away.”  
“Why were you upset?”  
“I’m not sure but just- everything- came back at that point. Something had triggered it. I was so angry at myself, I remember feeling so much guilt. And it was like I was scared- scared of myself.”  
Harry paused, noting it to himself, before continuing with the questions “Why did you feel guilty? Was it Craig’s death?”  
“Who?”  
“Craig Bowker. He was found dead on the quidditch pitch.”  
“I don’t know who you’re talking about…”  
Harry froze again. He couldn’t deny it anymore. She had genuinely lost some of her memory. She couldn’t even remember that she was the one who killed the boy. He didn’t know if he should even tell her that she was the one to kill him. She was on edge, Harry could see she was one wrong word away from breaking and he didn’t want to tell her what really happened that night. But he had to. “I think we should get you to the ministry as soon as possible, we can hold a full hearing then.” He said, overcoming the need to tell her the truth about that night. Maybe by the time they arranged a hearing some memory of the events would return to her. Delphi nodded in reply to Harry, looking away from him.  
“What charges would I be looking at then?” She asked, her voice still dry but Harry could sense she was scared of what was to come.  
“Well, there are several…”  
“What am I facing Harry?” She snapped again, quickly losing her patience with him.  
“Theft, abuse of forbidden relics.” He stopped again. Harry desperately did not want to tell her. He really, really did not want to reveal the truth to her. But she had told him the truth, and it was only fair if he did to. “Use of the Cruciatis curse and we suspect murder as well.” He stopped himself before going any deeper into it. Any colour that had returned to Delphi’s face had now drained away again.  
“Is that why you were all shouting at me in the church?” Her voice broke again. “Is that why you were all angry?”  
“I was angry because you have hurt my son and his best friend.” Harry raised his voice again. Delphi flinched, shrinking back. He broke off, holding his worlds.  
“Sorry I-“ He tried to apologise.  
“It’s fine.” She relaxed a little, “It’s a reflex. I’ve had it for my whole life.”  
“A reflex? From what?”  
“My guardian, Euphemia. She hurt me a lot. Every time she raised her voice at me I knew I’d come away with another bruise or another scar.”  
“Oh…” Harry paused again, not sure what to respond with to the new information she had just given him. “I- I’m sorry.., that’s all I can say…”  
“Don’t be. I deserve the pain, I guess.”


End file.
